


Where the Grass is Green

by theLiterator



Series: Barry works for the SCPD/Reverse Timeline AU [2]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Father-Son Relationship, Gen, M/M, Secret Identity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-19
Updated: 2015-10-19
Packaged: 2018-04-27 06:29:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,484
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5037454
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theLiterator/pseuds/theLiterator
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Flash has to act to save the Vigilante's life, which sets off kind of a chain of events.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Where the Grass is Green

**Author's Note:**

> For Day Two of Olivarry Week 2015 on tumblr: Coming out. (I sort of did and sort of didn't subvert this?)

Barry didn’t actually see the news report when it aired; not on the local nine-o’clock broadcast, not on the national ten-o’clock show, not even on a 24-hour news-station.

He was too busy saving Oliver’s life, at first, and then he was too busy having an argument with Oliver about appropriate times to interfere with Oliver’s all-important list, and then he was too busy sleeping.

He did, however, get to hear Joe’s _reaction_ to said news report at 6:45 the next morning when Joe called him to start yelling.

Now, Barry would be lying if he tried to claim he hadn’t pictured the outcome of this conversation a hundred times before, because he'd known Joe would find out sooner or later.

In fact, the yelling was all very predictable: The Vigilante was a murderer, Barry himself a hero. The Vigilante didn’t care about civilian casualties, Barry did. 

Barry nodded along as he waited for his coffee maker to finish up and crammed some power bars into his mouth, mumbling agreement occasionally so Joe wouldn’t start yelling about Barry never paying attention to him.

“What the hell were you _thinking!?_ ” Joe concluded, as Barry was spooning sugar into his coffee (he’d drunk it black in the mornings, before the accident. Now it was a waste of time to consume anything that was calorie free, so he had to sweeten it until it was cavity inducing).

“I was thinking, oh no, my friend and fellow hero is in trouble, I’d better go rescue him?” Barry said.

“ _Friend?_ ” Joe demanded incredulously. “He’s your friend? How did that happen?”

“I met him in a nightclub,” Barry said. “It was very romantic.”

“ _Barry!_ This is not a laughing matter.”

“I wasn’t joking. Anyway, he’s just-- he’s trying to make up for past mistakes. His dad… well, he left him with some heavy stuff, you know? I kind of get what he’s going through.”

Joe sighed heavily. “Barry, I know you want to see the good in people, but this guy’s dangerous. People around him keep winding up dead, and I don’t want--”

“ _I’m_ dangerous,” Barry snapped. “People around _me_ wind up dead. Or have you already forgotten about Eddie? And Ronnie? And who _knows_ who all else? Has the official death toll been released yet, or are they still compiling missing person reports?”

“Bear, it’s not the same thing--” Joe said in his most dadliest voice.

“What if it had been reversed. What if it had been me, and he was the only one who could save me. Would it matter that he was a _murderer_ then?” Barry asked.

“Bear,” Joe said, then stopped, letting the line ring silent for several moments. “I’m calling because Captain Singh called me a few minutes ago. The Metahuman Taskforce has been requested by the SCPD to coordinate on the Hood case, and I’m bringing Cisco down today. We should be there around lunch, if the train isn’t delayed.”

Barry bit his lip. “Okay. Okay, cool. I guess I’ll see you at the precinct this afternoon, huh?”

“Yeah. It’s been awhile, I’m looking forward to it,” Joe said.

“As long as you don’t arrest me,” Barry said.

Joe sighed. “See you this afternoon, Barry.”

“Bye.”

***

So the thing about Barry’s _thing_ with Oliver is that it was pretty one-sided. Oliver demanded information or resources, (which, thanks to Eobard Thawne being a total _prick_ who always had to have the last word, Barry had plenty of) and Barry provided.

Last night had kind of been the first time he’d worked with Oliver in the field, and it had totally sucked.

Barry wasn’t, like, regretting having helped, because he still felt very strongly that if he hadn’t, Oliver would be dead and dropped in the harbor and forgotten forever if he hadn’t, but it hadn’t exactly been the funnest thing he’d ever done either.

So walking into the crime lab at SCPD and having Oliver, a much put-upon Diggle, and an enormous bag of pastries waiting for him was, well.

Unexpected.

“Uh, hi?” Barry said. “You shouldn’t be here. Detective Lance likes to check on my cases in the mornings, and he still wants to kill you and present your head to Laurel, so.”

“I’m sorry,” Oliver snapped.

“Right. Totally believable.”

Diggle’s face twisted in that special way reserved only for when he was trying not to laugh at something Barry said. He grinned at Diggle and opened the bag of pastries.

“Oh, boy,” he said. “Literally everything. My absolute favorite.”

“For yelling at you,” Oliver added.

“And he’s sorry for needing you to come save him in the first place,” Diggle added, which Barry figured meant he was pissed at Oliver for going off half-cocked last night too. He had guessed Diggle might be an ally, but he hadn’t been quite sure. After all, it was Oliver who signed his paychecks.

“I didn’t need him to--”

Detective Lance walked in and Oliver dove for Barry’s lips to cut himself off, and Detective Lance made a noise of profoundest disgust before noisily storming away. Oliver jerked back and Barry wiped his mouth on the back of his hand.

“We have got to come up with a better plan for that,” Barry said. “Like, for instance, you not coming to my work, the _police department_ , to discuss all your activities as a _wanted criminal_.”

“He already thinks we’re dating,” Oliver said calmly.

“True,” Barry said. “By the way. My sort of dad is coming to Starling City to help catch you.”

“Me?” Oliver asked.

“Well, the Hood guy,” Barry clarified. “He doesn’t know about the part where you, Oliver Queen, once had a really awkward one night stand with me. I wasn’t _that_ mad about the yelling.”

Oliver pursed his lips, and Barry shrugged.

***

Oliver was back in time to harass Barry about his evening plans, which put him right in the middle of the bullpen when Commissioner Nudocerdo, Detective Lance, and Joe all emerged from the conference room.

“Oh for the love of--” Detective Lance snapped. “Mr. Queen, I understand that he’s very hard to leave alone, considering you haven’t managed to break his heart yet, but could you _please_ stop bothering him at work?”

Oliver did that weird thing where he grimaced while donning a playboy’s smile, and Barry rolled his eyes.

“But I didn’t make my dinner plans with him yet,” Oliver said with an elaborate pout. His eyes kept flicking from face to face and around through the exits, which made _Barry_ feel jumpy.

“I hear you have a cell phone, and Barry happens to have one too, so why don’t you use this _novel_ form of communication and get the _hell_ out of my sight.”

“Well, when you put it like that, Detective,” Oliver said, grinning at him before hunching his shoulders and weaving out of the room. Barry watched him leave with a small sense of relief.

“Barry?” Joe said. “Who was that?”

“Oliver,” Barry said.

“Oliver?” Joe repeated. Barry shrugged.

“Oh-- oh, for the love of,” Detective Lance said, scrubbing his hands across his face. “Don’t tell me I just-- how do you two know each other?”

“Joe adopted me when I was eleven,” Barry told him, smiling at Joe.

“The only time I’ve ever used my influence for evil,” Joe agreed, squeezing Barry’s shoulder.

“I’m really sorry for-- for that. That was… unconscionable. I shouldn’t have let my mouth run like that. Dinah would-- I’m sorry, Barry.” Detective Lance was looking everywhere but at Barry and Joe, and everyone else had made themselves scarce.

“Sorry for what?” Joe asked.

“He thinks he outed me,” Barry said. “It’s okay, Joe’s known about the whole liking guys thing longer than I have. But uh, I don’t think Moira does? So, probably. Uh, you know. Not in front of her.”

“I have absolutely nothing to say to Moira Queen,” Detective Lance said. “And I should let you two catch up. Do you know Mr. Ramon as well?”

Barry nodded. “We’ve, uh. We’ve met. But he started working for SCPD after I left.”

“Well, you’ll be working together now; we need our best people on this Hood thing. It’s clear after last night that it’s getting out of control,” Detective Lance said, patting Barry’s other shoulder.

“Yeah,” Barry said. “Clearly.”

“I just hope this Flash guy stays on the Hood’s good side. He seems like his heart’s in the right place, at least,” Detective Lance said. “Well, have a good night, guys.”

Barry and Joe nodded and then Joe rounded on Barry. “So. A boyfriend?”

“Not really,” Barry said. “I kind of accidentally hooked up with him when his ex was using me as a revenge-date and now he won’t leave me alone. I think he’s trying to reverse revenge-date me, but the only person it’s pissing off is Detective Lance.”

“Wow,” Joe said. “Starling City just keeps getting better and better.”


End file.
